Off the Cuff Comments: Mock Drafts, Tim Tebow, and Rumor Mills

Are you bored? It's a few weeks until the draft and we are 4 months removed from Denver Broncos football. We are in a period of the football calendar that is completely void of activity and for many of us, this time of year is downright boring. No free agency. No drafts. No OTAs. Nothing. 

The only thing that we have, at the moment, to keep our NFL cravings under control is to read or create mock draft after mock draft. I realize that many people are on opposite ends of the mock draft spectrum. Some love mocking and some hate it. I fall somewhere in the middle. I can see the appeal of mock drafting, but I have yet to fully dive into the creation of one. Yes, I'm interested in who the Broncos are going to select in a few weeks. I have great respect for people who put out mock drafts and would never want to take anything away from the quality "mockers" out there, but as Draft day approaches, many of them become redundant. Because of this, I develop increasing angst for mock drafts as time goes on. Part of the angst comes from my anxiety for the draft, but most of it stems from the fact that I have read nothing but mock drafts for 4 months (or longer, in some cases) and can usually determine from these numerous mocks where each "mocker's" head is at.

I don't discourage mockers, though. I get great pleasure out of reading and researching different players. The more information, the better. Changing things up and mocking different players to different teams is interesting, but as I've said, redundancy frustrates me. 

We can project mock drafts until we are blue in the face, but that doesn't give us any clearer picture as to what will actually happen when the Denver Broncos go on the clock. If Elway, Fox or Xanders posted a mock draft, that would be a different story...

Quarterback Competition Update

A few months ago,  I wrote an article about how the media was reverberating a story around the airwaves, TV and internet about how Kyle Orton would be the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. After tracing back the origin of the story and arriving at the precipice of the thesis, most people determined that the story was inspired by a John Elway press conference quote taken out of context. Obviously, it caught a lot of attention because the always controversial Tim Tebow was in the middle of the fray. 

Point being, here we are just two months later and we're still talking about the Broncos quarterback situation and the issues surrounding Tim Tebow. Will he start? Won't he start? Does John Elway believe in him? Will the Broncos draft a QB to replace him? Is Kyle Orton still ahead of Tim Tebow on the depth chart?

To me, it still doesn't matter. There is no new information, so how are we supposed to be drawing new conclusions about the Denver Broncos? We're in the middle of a lockout. There is no communication between coaches and players, at the moment. There hasn't been a Broncos press conference in months. Most fans could care less about the current NFL vs NFLPA litigation, too, so long as it doesn't interfere with the upcoming NFL season.

That leaves us, as football fans, with absolutely nothing new to ponder or talk about.

Rumor Mills: Eating Dinner from a Stirred Pot 

When the news slows down, the writers begin to formulate stories. At the same time, fans are still seeking as much information as they can sink their teeth into. This leads to the perfect storm of pot stirring. The writers write and the fans react.

To be honest, I am not bothered when some writers create stories for the sake of creating stories. Writing stories is a job for  them. They are paid for page views, so by busting out titles like "Tebow on the outs?" or "Broncos don't believe in Tebow", they can earn a lot of search traffic from google, yahoo and the like. For me, writing at MHR is a hobby. I would rather have accurate stories than page clicks because, as a fan myself, I want to know what is going on just as much as you do.

What most of us end up doing during these dead periods (and I'm just as guilty as anyone else) is falling into the trap of believing all of the hear-say or, worse yet, believing only the portion of the story that they wish to be true. Truth is truth. If Elway comes out tomorrow and says "Tim Tebow isn't ever going to be the quarterback for the Denver Broncos", then we should all concede to that truth. However, John Elway hasn't done that. If he does, we'll be sure to post that quote on MHR.

The Sad Conclusion

Unfortunately, I don't forsee any new information coming out with regards to the Broncos quarterback situation. From here on out, teams will likely be playing their cards close to the chest. We will just have to wait until draft day and see what the Broncos are going to do, as it happens. Our opinions are fine and dandy (and we're all entitled to them), but they don't definitively answer any of the Denver Broncos' questions, especially during a time in the year where very little information is being released.

The only opinions that have the opportunity to change the fortunes of the Broncos are the opinions of Elway, Fox and Xanders. I just hope they aren't swayed by some of these extemporaneous off-season stories.